Sportsman`s Opens With Hopes High

By the time the meeting ends Oct. 6, director of racing Phil Langley predicts, Sportsman`s will become the first Illinois harness track to break the $3 million handle barrier on a single program.

He thinks it will be ``Super Night II`` on Sept. 15.

Last year, with the cooperation of the Illinois Department of Agriculture`s Horse Racing program, Sportsman`s inaugurated ``Super Night,``

an eight-race extravaganza for the finest Illinois-bred pacers.

It proved to be one of the best innovations of the decade.

``Now, the nominations are up 20 percent for those races,`` said Langley. ``That means more horses and bigger purses.``

If Langley`s prediction concerning the handle comes true, it will be a remarkable upswing for the standardbred sport. Going into the current meeting, the Sportsman`s record is $2,137,646, set on July 6, 1979.

Langley believes momentum will build at the current meeting for several reasons. He cites the stimulus provided by intertrack and off-track betting and Sportsman`s free grandstand and free general parking policy.

``We`ll have good, solid racing, second only to the Meadowlands,`` said Langley. ``Nominations also are way up for the American-Nationals.``

The first four of the eight races in the American-National classic series for pacers and trotters will be next month.

Leading off the series will be the $225,000 pace for 3-year-old fillies June 9.

It will be followed by the $190,000 trot for 3-year-old fillies June 11, the $300,000 open trot for 3-year-olds June 18 and the $400,000 open pace for 3-year-olds June 30.

An important new wrinkle to the stakes schedule is the change in format for the U.S. Pacing Championship. The free-for-all series is a joint venture involving three tracks with different circumferences-Sportsma n`s, which is a 5/8-mile track; the Meadowlands, a mile track in New Jersey; and Yonkers, a 1/ 2-mile track in New York.

The new format will have the tracks presenting the races in alterating order annually. This year Yonkers will have the first leg Aug. 11, the Meadowlands the second Aug. 17 and Sportsman`s the $135,000 final Aug. 25.